Chris Borich, who would have been competing
against West, in the Quad Terrain Challenge, echoes
the sentiments of many racers in the same situation.
“It’s particularly unfortunate for
our sponsors who have so much invested and were
counting on the media coverage and exposure from
that series,” said Borich.
| |
|
|
Pro
ATV Racer, Chris Borich signed with Suzuki
to race both the LT-R450 in the GNCC Series
& the King Quad in the WPSA Series
|
Chris
Bithell signed on with the Warnert Racing
/ CanAm Team for 2008 to race the DS450
in the GNCC Series & the Outlander
in the WPSA Series |
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John
Natalie Jr 2007 WPSA Super Quad Pro Champion |
“I’m pretty bummed about the cancellation,”
said Can-Am/Warnert racing’s John Natalie.
“I won the championship last year and
now I don’t even get the opportunity to
defend it,” he said disappointedly. “It
really seems like a set back, especially after
all the media coverage the series generated,”
John concluded.
The affluent media coverage that brought the
WPSA to somewhat of an elite status not only
brought about benefits for the WPSA but for
the ATV racing industry as a whole. The AMA
ATV MX Nationals has seen a dramatic increase
in numbers this season and record numbers in
some cases. Now with the many racers that have
been left out in the cold with the WPSA cancellation,
the attendance at the National events is expected
to grow even higher, especially among the amateur
ranks.
“It’s very unfortunate,”
stated Tim Cotter at Racer Productions. “Even
though they were our competition, we are sad
to see this happen. The series did a lot to
promote ATV racing and bring recognition to
the sport. Our numbers had increased before
the WPSA made its announcement so we partly
attribute the increase in our numbers to the
exposure brought about by the WPSA’s TV
coverage.”
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| The
collapse of the WPSA ATV Tour not only
affected the factory teams, but also several
privateer Pros Cale Downen (left) &
Thomas Hager (right) just to name a few
that missed several ATV Motocross Naional
events preparing for the WPSA season opener
because they couldn't afford to travel
to both series, which also was the plan
on many amateur racers as well that now
don't have a chance at a championship
run in 2008
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